- English
If you wish to move to Sweden to live with a close relative, you need a residence permit. It must be ready before you enter Sweden. Other rules apply to citizens of an EU/EEA country other than Sweden.
Close relatives are defined as:
Other relatives may only be granted a residence permit in exceptional cases.
It is the Swedish Migration Board that considers your right to a residence permit. For a full description of what rules apply, please check the Swedish Migration Board website.
You will be informed of the decision in your case by your relative in Sweden, if you have authorised him/her to represent you. Otherwise you will be informed of the decision by the Swedish embassy/consulate.
How to apply
The quickest and easiest way to apply for a residence permit is to apply online. An online application goes directly to the Swedish Migration Board. If you cannot or do not want to apply over the Internet, you can fill in a paper form that you submit in person to the embassy.
The description below applies to you if you are the citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA and wish to move to live with a family member who is also a citizen of a country outside the EU/EEA or is a Swedish citizen.
Applying online
1. Prepare your documentation
Check which documents and personal data you require. The Swedish Migration Board gives priority to applications that are completed in full, and you get a decision sooner. Read more under Required documents.
NB! Read this information about passport checks
2. Applying
Follow the Swedish Migration Board’s instructions for applying online over the Internet. You attach documents electronically and pay the application fee using a VISA card or a MasterCard. All information through the link above.
3. Your family member must answer questions
Your family member has to fill in a questionnaire. Once you have sent in your application, he or she will automatically receive an email with instructions. The family member must reply to the questions within two weeks.
4. Visit the embassy/consulate
Wait for an email asking you to make an appointment at the embassy. Only then will the Swedish Migration Board have gone through both your application and your family member’s replies and have transferred your case to the embassy. You make an appointment by sending a request for an appointment to the following adress: migration.abuja@gov.se Please specify the purpose of the appointment.
At the embassy, you have to prove your identity by showing your passport, and you will be interviewed. Children applying for a residence permit are also interviewed. If the child is too young or too immature, the person looking after the child is interviewed instead.
Bring along the originals of the documents you attached to your online application. In its email, the Swedish Migration Board may also have asked you to bring additional documents with you. You may need to be photographed and fingerprinted for the residence permit card you will receive if you are granted a residence permit. This also applies to children.
You can find the address of the embassy under Contact.
After the interview, your case is transferred back to the Migration Board in Sweden. If you have neither attended the interview nor made contact with the embassy, your case is nevertheless sent to the Swedish Migration Board, and your application may be rejected.
5. Wait for the decision
When the Swedish Migration Board has reached its decision, you will be informed of this by email. The actual decision will be sent to your family member in Sweden, if you have authorised him or her to represent you.
6. Wait for the residence permit card
If you are granted a residence permit, you will be issued with a residence permit card.
If you need a visa to enter Sweden
If you need a visa to enter Sweden, the card is ordered automatically if you have already been photographed and fingerprinted.
It can take up to four weeks for the residence permit card to be made and delivered to the embassy. Once the card has arrived here, the embassy will inform you.
If you do not need a visa to enter Sweden
If you have been granted a residence permit and do not require a visa, you travel to Sweden and arrange for the card there. Contact the Swedish Migration Board to have your photograph and fingerprints taken.
Applying on a paper form
1. Prepare your documentation
Check which documents and personal data you need. The Swedish Migration Board gives priority to applications that are completed in full, and you get a decision sooner. Read more under Required documents and on the Swedish Migration Board website through the link above.
2. Pay the application fee
The Embassy does not accept cash payments. All application fees shall be paid at: Zenith Bank account No: 1130018871
You must always pay the fee before your visit to the Embassy.
Read more under Fees.
3. Present your application at the embassy
Bring along the completed application form together with all your documents and the receipt of payment.
Visa and residence permit applications are received by appointment only. Bookings are handled by e-mail: migration.abuja@gov.se
You can find the address of the embassy under Contact.
4. Visit the embassy
At the embassy, you will be interviewed. Children applying for a residence permit are also interviewed. If the child is too young or too immature, the person looking after the child is interviewed instead.
You may be photographed and fingerprinted for the residence permit card you will receive if you are granted a residence permit. This also applies to children.
After the interview, your case is sent back to the Migration Board in Sweden. If you have neither attended the interview nor made contact with the embassy, your case is nevertheless sent to the Swedish Migration Board, and your application may be rejected.
5. Wait for the decision
The Swedish Migration Board’s decision will be sent to your family member in Sweden, if you have authorised him or her to represent you.
6. Wait for the residence permit card
If you are granted a residence permit, you will be issued with a residence permit card. You arrange for the card in the same way as described above under ‘Applying online’.